MESSAGE By Sarah Hull, Section Presidentnjlamembers.org › sites › njlamembers.org › files › Chronicle Summer … · ’ MESSAGE By Sarah Hull, Section President Greetings,

Summer 2019 Volume 21, Number 1

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

By Sarah Hull, Section President

Greetings, H&P Section members and 2019-2020 executive board! As I begin

my one-year term as president of this fabulous section, I sincerely thank

outgoing President Tom Ankner for his incredible work over the past two

years. Under his able leadership, we strengthened and expanded our

presence as one of the most active NJLA sections – both through professional

development programs (thanks also to Carolyn Dorsey) and via social media

(thanks to Danny Klein). A special thank you to The Chronicle editor Colleen

Goode. With each issue, Colleen outdoes herself. It is simply a pleasure to

read.

I am truly delighted that so many of us attended this year’s NJLA Conference.

We had great turnouts for all three of our section programs, with a whopping

60+ attendees at the Born Digital session. Just incredible! Thank you to

everyone who lectured, moderated, or otherwise participated. Let’s all give a

hearty congratulations to Karl J. Niederer, the 2019 recipient of the section’s

Susan G. Swartzburg Preservation award (see page 6).

Please help me welcome to their new positions: Ken Kaufman as Vice

President/President Elect and Richetta Wilson Lobban as Secretary (see pages

2 - 4 for more information about everyone on the 2019-2020 board). I look

forward to working with them this year.

Now, down to business. My goal as section president for 2019-2020 is to

establish an H&P Section Speakers Panel. This panel would consist of section

members willing to offer presentations primarily about the resources

available at their library or archive. Organizations (such as genealogy clubs

and historical societies) could request one or more speakers. While clubs and

2019-2020 H&P Section Executive Board

President: Sarah Hull

Vice President: Ken Kaufman

Secretary: Richetta Wilson

Lobban

Past President: Thomas Ankner

Members-at-Large

Sarah Kiefer

Jessica Myers

Gary Saretzky

Ex Officio

Donald F. Cornelius MARAC NJ Caucus

Michele Stricker State Library Liaison

___________

To submit articles, news or calendar events to The Chronicle, email

Colleen Goode, at [email protected]

If possible, please send images with captions with the text.

The submission deadline for the Fall issue is September 25, 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

President’s Message p. 1 -2 Archives & History Day at Monmouth Co. p. 8 - 10

Executive Board p. 2 – 4 Roger McDonough Award p. 10

H&P at NJLA Annual Conference p. 5 Member News & Events p. 11 - 21

Susan G. Swartzburg Award p. 6 – 7 Calendar p. 22

mailto:[email protected]

The Chronicle, Newsletter of the History & Preservation Section of the NJLA, Vol. 21, No. 1 Page 2

historical societies could still reach out directly to their local libraries, this program would provide an easy,

additional way for organizations to learn about New Jersey resources. Details such as financial payments (if

allowed by NJLA) and speaker presentation guidelines will be determined.

Details about our first section meeting will follow soon. Also, please save the date of Wednesday, October 16th

for the section’s fall meeting at Monmouth County Archives, where Gary Saretzky has another great day of

speakers already planned.

Thanks!

New Section Leadership:

President: Sarah Hull, Plainfield Public Library

Sarah Hull is the head of the Local History, Genealogy & Special Collections

Department at the Plainfield Public Library. Sarah has an MA in Medieval Studies

from Fordham University and an MS in Library and Information Science, with a

concentration in Archives Management, from Simmons College. She has been

working as a professional librarian and archivist for over twenty years. She is an

NJLA Susan G. Swartzburg Preservation Award recipient (2017). In her spare

time, she enjoys anything steampunk, playing hide and seek (mostly seek) with

her cat, and buying arts & crafts supplies.

Vice President: Kenneth Kaufman, Somerset County Library System

Ken Kaufman is an adult services librarian at Somerset County Library System,

specializing in local history and genealogy research assistance. For eight years, he

has been active in the History & Preservation Section, serving as Secretary for the

last several years. Earning an MLS from Rutgers University, he has been a librarian

for 19 years, working in various reference and collection development capacities at

the Bridgewater branch of SCLSNJ and Old Bridge Public Library. Prior to his library

career, Ken worked in banking and received a BS from Penn State University and an

MBA from St. Joseph's University.

Secretary: Richetta Wilson Lobban, East Orange Public Library: After working many years in museums and

publishing, Richetta Wilson Lobban decided that librarianship was the path for her and earned an MLIS from

Rutgers University. She is currently a reference librarian at the East Orange Public Library, aiming to make its

local history collection more accessible to the public.


Past President: Thomas Ankner, Newark Public Library:

Thomas Ankner has been an information professional for more than 25 years.

After working in the Circulation Department at the Morristown & Morris Township

Library, he received an MLS degree from Rutgers in 1992. Tom then worked at the

Brooklyn Public Library, where he assisted patrons in the Telephone Reference

division.

In 1996, Tom took a detour into the private sector. He spent more than a decade

as a researcher for national news media outlets: first for ABC News in New York

City, then for USA TODAY outside of Washington, DC.

Tom made a return to the world of public libraries when he was hired by the Newark Public Library in 2010. He

was recently promoted to be the principal librarian in charge of the Charles F. Cummings New Jersey

Information Center. He has also operated a small genealogy research business since 2011.

Members-at-Large:

Sarah Kiefer, Ridgewood Public Library: Sarah Kiefer pursued her MLIS at

Rutgers University, graduating in 2013. With her interest in history, and her

previous Master's of History from William Paterson University, she fit right into

the role of Local History Librarian at Ridgewood Public Library. Though she

spends most of her time in the Bolger Heritage Center, assisting patrons with

questions on local history and genealogy, Sarah is also a part of the Reference

team.

Jessica Myers, Bloomfield Historical Society:

Jessica Myers works with the Historical Society of Bloomfield. She received her

MLIS from Rutgers University in 2000. Jessica retired as Plainfield Public Library’s

Local History & Special Collections Librarian in 2012. She currently leads the

Memoir Writing Group at Plainfield Senior Center. In the past, she worked at

Princeton Public Library, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale and

Christ’s College Library in Cambridge.


Gary Saretzky, Monmouth County Archives: Gary D. Saretzky has worked as an

archivist at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (1968-1969), Educational

Testing Service (1969-1993), and the Monmouth County Archives (1994 to

present). Gary taught history of photography at Mercer County Community

College (1977-2012) and coordinated the Public History Internship Program for

the Rutgers University History Department (1994-2016). He has served as a

consultant to more than 60 different archives in New Jersey, primarily through

CAPES, the consulting service of the New Jersey Caucus of the Mid-Atlantic

Regional Archives Conference (MARAC/NJ). As a Public Scholar for the New

Jersey Council for the Humanities, he has given more than 50 lectures around

the state on 19th century New Jersey photographers. Gary has been President of the Princeton Preservation

Group since 2005 and is a past Chair of the Business Archives Section of the Society of American Archivists

(1978-1979), the MARAC/NJ Caucus (1998-2002), the Preservation Committee of the New Jersey Region V

Library Cooperative (1988-1990), and the Preservation Section of the New Jersey Library Association (1986-

1987).

Save the Date!

H&P Section Meeting

October 16th, 12 pm

Monmouth County Library, Manalapan


Dale Colston, Newark Public Library, moderator; Gene Armstead, Jr., President of the African-American Historical & Genealogical Society; Evelyn McDowell, founder and President of Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage (SDUSMP); Tom Ankner, Newark Public Library.

H&P AT NJLA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

HARRAH’S, ATLANTIC CITY Submitted by Ken Kaufman, Vice President, Thomas Ankner, Past-President and

Jessica Myers, Member-at-Large

The History & Preservation Section held three great

programs this year.The lead off H&P sponsored

program was “Is My House Haunted? House History

Research,” presented by Danny Klein of Jersey City

Free Public Library, Laura Poll of Trenton Public

Library, and Heather Perez of Stockton University

and moderated by Sarah Hull of Plainfield Public

Library. The program was attended by 45 people.

Presenters discussed essential resources at their

libraries for discovering the history of a property.

At Jersey City Library, its collection of Sanborn, tax

assessment, and Hopkins maps were effective “go-

to” sources. Other key items included national

register eligibility surveys, tax lists, historic district

nomination forms, city directories, and newspapers.

Trenton Library’s collection featured unique items

such as house photographs among its tax records,

real estate ephemera, house tour programs, and

select employee records. Located in a historically

rural area, Stockton University’s land deed

collection was the spotlighted resource, and it

doubled as an effective teaching tool with students

transcribing the text and using online mapping tools

to draw out lot boundaries.

The next session was “What do we do with this?

Managing Born Digital Records.” Presenter

Annalise Berdini, Digital Archivist at Princeton

University, advised the audience to ask essential

questions during the assessment stage of a project,

to make connections with stakeholders, to

document and develop policies, and to appraise and

make copies of the most important files. James

Lewis of the North Jersey History and Genealogy

Center (Morristown PL) discussed how you can

implement a digital processing, preservation, and

access program with limited resources.

Approximately 40 people attended the last session

entitled, “Exploring our Past: African American

Genealogy.” The session was co-sponsored with the

Diversity & Outreach Section and Reference Section,

and was moderated by Dale Colston of the Newark

Public Library. This program was designed to help

librarians who receive reference questions about

African American genealogy. Attendees learned

from experts in the field about some noteworthy

organizations and strategies to help field these

questions.


SUSAN G. SWARTZBURG PRESERVATION AWARD

Presented by Gary Saretzky, Monmouth County Archivist

“As an archivist with the New Jersey State Archives

from 1978 to 2012, including many years as

Supervising Archivist and then Bureau Chief of the

Division of Archives & Records Management

(DARM), Karl Niederer worked tirelessly to promote

the preservation of New Jersey’s State and Colonial

Era archival records. In addition to his archival

work, he conceived and implemented DARM’s

PARIS grants program (2005-2010) that provided

millions of dollars in grants to county and municipal

governments to enhance the preservation of and

access to their records. For example, through

PARIS, the Monmouth County Archives got several

hundred thousand dollars of grant funds which we

used to install compact shelving and equip a

conservation room. The compact shelving enabled

us to open up free storage for municipalities to

store historically valuable records with us and about

20 have done so.

Karl has been very active as a contributor to

professional organizations, including service on the

Executive Committee of the NJLA Preservation

Section (a precursor to the History & Preservation

Section) from 1987 to 2000. He has also been

President and Vice President of the Council of State

Archivists (2003-2008); Coordinator of the New

Jersey State Historical Records Advisory Board

(1994-2012); Secretary of the New Jersey Studies

Alliance; and for MARAC, Member-at-Large on

Steering Committee (1987-1989) and Chair, MARAC

Steering Committee (1991-1993). In 1988, Karl

helped conceive and develop the CAPES consulting

program for the New Jersey Caucus of MARAC and

has served as a consultant conducting site visits.

With funding from the New Jersey Historical

Commission, CAPES has provided more than 500

free consulting visits to libraries and archives.

These visits no doubt have helped many of the sites

with preservation issues.

After transferring to the New Jersey Historic

Preservation Office in 2013, where he worked until

his retirement in 2018, Karl became Administrator

for the New Jersey Cultural Alliance for Response

(NJCAR), helping to enhance future disaster

recovery efforts for the state’s libraries and other

cultural institutions. A former resident of Hopewell,

Karl was Supervising Editor for Hopewell: A

Historical Geography (1991) and has been active in

the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, currently

serving as a trustee. Among other publications, he

was a co-compiler of A Guide to Family History

Resources in the New Jersey State Archives (1987,

rev. 1994) and an editorial assistant for volumes 4

Karl Niederer and Gary Saretzky


and 5 of Laws of the Royal Colony of New Jersey

(1982, 1986).

Karl is the epitome of a public servant working in

the fields of archives, libraries, and history. He

consistently strives to get the best quality results in

each of his numerous endeavors. He conducts his

work with creativity and attention to detail. His

accomplishments and ability to work well with

others has earned the respect and admiration of his

staff and professional colleagues. I am pleased to

present this year’s Susan Swartzburg Preservation

Award to Karl Niederer.”

Susan Swartzburg Preservation Award Winners (Left to Right): Tim Corlis (2014), Sarah Hull (2017), Karl

Neiderer (2019), Gary Saretzky (2006), Elsalyn Palmisano (2003), Michele Stricker (2010), Chad Leinaweaver

(2018)


Michelle LaRue

2019 ARCHIVES AND HISTORY DAY: OCT. 12 AT MONMOUTH COUNTY LIBRARY HEADQUARTERS

Submitted by Gary Saretzky, Archivist, Monmouth County Archives

Plans are in place for the 24th annual Archives and

History Day, Saturday, October 12, to be held at the

Monmouth County Library HQ in Manalapan. As of

June 2019, some of the 63 exhibitor tables are still

available for archives and libraries with local history

collections, as well as other history-related

organizations. Contact

[email protected] to

register your organization (no

registration for individuals to attend).

The featured speaker will be Michele

LaRue, “Someone Must Wash the

Dishes: An Anti-Suffrage Satire.”

LaRue tours nationally with a

repertoire of one-woman productions

using American writing from “the long

19th century” (the period between our

Civil War and World War I)—

performed in vibrant oral

interpretation style. Now based in

New York City, she has presented her

offerings at more than 300 venues, ranging from

Washington’s Smithsonian Institution to Chicago’s

Newberry Library to NYC’s Lincoln Center. This

program is a Public Scholars Project of the New

Jersey Council for the Humanities. Here is a synopsis:

For decades, countless American women fought for

the right to vote. But many others—like the

costumed fictional Anti-Suffragist portrayed in this

program—fought against it. Written by pro-

Suffragist Marie Jenney Howe in 1912, this witty,

insightful satire sheds light on some of the

apparently absurd arguments offered by those

opposed to the Suffragist movement. Anti-

arguments like “If given the ballot, would she

destroy civilization by voting with—or by voting

against!—her own husband?” will be explored,

while insight about the sociological, historical, and

political context informs the arguments against

Suffrage.

At the event, several awards will be

presented, including the Roger

McDonough Award for a long and

significant career in libraries or

archives. The award is cosponsored

by NJLA H&P, MARAC/NJ Caucus, the

New Jersey Studies Academic

Alliance, and the New Jersey

Historical Commission. This year, the

Roger McDonough Award will be

presented to archivist Ellen Callahan,

recently retired collections manager

of the New Jersey State Archives. A

preliminary program for the event is

available at

https://www.monmouthcountyclerk.com/archives/

events-exhibits/

Archives Week in Monmouth County also includes

three public programs on Wednesday, October 16,

to coincide with an NJLA H&P meeting at the lunch

break.

Wednesday, October 16, 9:30-10:30am

Dr. Walter D. Greason, Associate Professor and

Chair of the Department of Educational Counseling

and Leadership, Monmouth University. “From the

Pines to the Waves: Wealth, Leadership, and

Historic Preservation.” New Jersey’s history hinges


Walter Greason

Carol Simon Levin

Melissa Ziobro

on the events in Monmouth County. Long before

the Battle of Monmouth, however, the economic

patterns of land-use and local governance

established traditions that continue to shape the

state in the twenty-first century. Few teachers and

scholars have examined these patterns, but the

emergence of the new history of capitalism since

2015 has excited the interest of historians,

anthropologists, sociologists, journalists, and

geographers. This presentation will explore the

recent advances in

the study of New

Jersey across these

disciplinary

boundaries,

featuring emerging

insights from

student

researchers.

Valuable to elected

officials,

policymakers, and

educators, the

successful opening

of the T. Thomas

Fortune Cultural Center, a National Historic

Landmark, will provide an important case study

about wealth, leadership, and historic preservation

in this region.

Wednesday, October 16, 10:45-11:45am:

Melissa Ziobro, Specialist Professor of Public History,

Monmouth University. “American Women and

Royal Marriages: New Jersey’s Real-Life ‘Lady

Coras.’” Royal wedding fever has been in the air

since Great Britain's Prince Harry wed American

actress Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018, but

marriages between American heiresses and

impoverished European nobles once happened by

the hundreds during the Gilded Age. The marriages

secured social status for "new money" American

families often

slighted by the

established elites in

their own country,

while the infusion

of American dollars

allowed the

impoverished

nobility across the

Atlantic to continue

to maintain the lifestyles to which their families had

been accustomed for generations. Professor Ziobro

will discuss the so-called “dollar princesses” of the

Gilded Age, to include Lady Monson (née Romaine

Stone, daughter of General Roy Stone of

Morristown NJ), Lady Roberts (née Elizabeth Marie

LaRoche, daughter of William Tell LaRoche of

Harrington Park, NJ), and Princess Miguel of

Braganza (née Anita Stewart, born in Elberon, NJ),

and more.

Wednesday, October 16, 1:00-2:30pm:

Carol Simon Levin, Actor and Storyteller.

“Reclaiming Our Voice: New Jersey's Role in the

Fight for Woman Suffrage.” Carol Simon Levin will

portray Lillian Feickert, president of the New Jersey


Ellen Callahan

Woman Suffrage Association from 1912-1920, to

tell the story of the role of New Jersey women in

the long struggle for woman suffrage. Two hundred

and twenty five years ago, women had the right to

vote in only one state--New Jersey--a right they

would lose in 1807 and not win back for more than

five generations. New Jersey's role in the struggle

to regain that right is largely overlooked. Hear the

stories of women with Jersey ties: Elizabeth Cady

Stanton, Alice Paul, Lucy Stone, Portia Gage,

Victoria Woodhull, the Grimké sisters, and more.

Together, these and other women (and their male

allies) propelled woman suffrage past reluctant

male voters and through state and national

legislatures to the final success of the 19th

Amendment.

For questions about these programs, please contact

[email protected]

ELLEN CALLAHAN SELECTED AS 2019 RECIPIENT OF

ROGER MCDONOUGH AWARD

Submitted by Gary Saretzky, Archivist, Monmouth County Archives

This award is named for Roger H. McDonough, New

Jersey State Librarian from 1947 to 1975. Since

2002, the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance,

together with the New Jersey Historical Commission,

Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference New

Jersey Caucus, and the New Jersey Library

Association History & Preservation Section, has

given an award to a librarian, archivist, or

manuscript curator for excellence in service to the

New Jersey history research community and/or the

general public. The award will be presented on

Archives and History Day at the Monmouth County

Library HQ on October 12, 2019.

Ellen Callahan recently retired as New Jersey State

Archives Collection Manager after 28 years of

service. At the State Archives, she processed

numerous record series and produced outstanding

finding aids. Her detailed guides to Revolutionary

War records, in particular, are highly valued for

their scholarship. Ellen played a critical role in

assisting the State Archivist Joseph Klett in planning

and executing the move of the State Archives to its

present location in 2000, involving more than

30,000 cubic feet of records. Among numerous

subsequent activities, she supervised a $700,000

Save America Treasures project to stabilize and

repair more than 5,000 leaves of Revolutionary War

documents. Ellen’s outstanding professional

accomplishments merit her selection as this year’s

McDonough Award recipient.


Sarah Hull (Plainfield PL) and Mark

White (President of MCGS)

MONMOUTH COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY WORKSHOP

“THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME”

Submitted by Elizabeth McDermott, MCGS Trustee and

Judy Bretzger, MCGS Newsletter Editor

Several members of the NJLA History &

Preservation Section participated in a workshop

organized by the Monmouth County Genealogical

Society (MCGS) on March 30th. The goal of the

workshop, “There’s No Place Like Home! ‘Research

Facilities in New Jersey’” was to alert family

historians to the variety of resources found in some

lesser-known but robust destinations for

researching family and local history.

Wendy Hudson of the Danish Archive North East

(DANE) led off the presentations. The Archive and

Museum in Edison is currently a Danish Cultural

Center housed in a building that was formerly an

assisted living facility for members of the Danish

Brotherhood and Sisterhood in the Northeastern US.

Nearby, Perth Amboy was once home to a thriving

community of Danish immigrants, most arriving

between 1870 and 1920. DANE welcomes inquiries

from anyone researching their Danish ancestors.

Their research is free and thorough.

Three New Jersey libraries were well represented

by Sarah Hull of Plainfield Public Library, Cynthia

Harris of Jersey City Public Library and Tom Ankner

of Newark Public Library.

Sarah Hull described some of the abundant material

at Plainfield’s Local History Room including

photograph collections, scrapbooks, local surname

files, the Plainfield Police logs, Bible records, diaries

and journals and more.

As Manager of the Local History Room of the Jersey

City Library, Cynthia Harris has presided over the

growth of this resource for decades. The Joan D.

Lovero collection contains books on all aspects of

New Jersey life, city directories, periodicals,

thousands of photographs, prints and postcards

representing life in Jersey City for the last 200 years,

and much more.

Tom Ankner emphasized the daily newspaper

collections at the Newark Public Library, which

include the Newark Daily Advertiser (1832-1907),

Newark Evening News (1883-1939), the Newark

Star-Eagle (1916-1939), and the Star-Ledger (1939

to the present). The clippings collection is popular

with genealogists, as are the photo collection, the

archives collection of personal papers, records of

local organizations, and city and state documents.


Cynthia Harris (Jersey City PL) and Alan Delozier

(Seton Hall University)

Janice Grace (Long Branch PL), Tom Ankner

(Newark PL), Mark White (President of MCGS)

Alan Delozier wore two hats and presented on both

the New Jersey Catholic Historical Commission and

the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH). Seton Hall

University in South Orange was founded as the first

Catholic college in New Jersey and has been

accumulating records since 1856. It serves as the

“dual primary repository for both a major

educational institution and religious see,” according

to Delozier.

His presentation on the Ancient Order of Hibernians

(AOH) was much anticipated by the attendees, as

this type of information is generally hard to come

by. Genealogists are eager to learn about the

personal lives of their ancestors that may be found

in social organizations. This collection includes

material from 1888 to 1997. It contains AOH In

America National Committee reports (1888-1990);

the Hibernian Journal (1907-1969); National

Hibernian (1905-1932); and National Hibernian

Digest (1947 -1997).

The Monmouth County Genealogical Society offers

two workshops a year, featuring a different area of

research each time. The next workshop is

scheduled for October 26, 2019. Dean Henry will

speak on African American Research and Family

Tree Maker.

The MCGS also offers six free programs a year with

various topics of a historical nature highlighted. All

programs take place at 2pm at the Eatontown

Community Center.


John Grady on the porch of his restored home at

828 Arlington Avenue, Plainfield, circa 2007

HISTORIC PLAINFIELD WITH JOHN GRADY

Submitted by Sally Weiner, Archivist

Local History, Genealogy, & Special Collections at Plainfield Public Library

This year Plainfield celebrates its sesquicentennial,

the 150th anniversary of its incorporation as a city.

Throughout 2019 Plainfield has been marking the

celebration with various activities and events. The

Plainfield Public Library’s contribution to the

festivities included a lecture by John Grady and an

exhibit featuring some of the extensive collection

he donated to the Local History Department.

John Grady is a Plainfield author, collector, and

history lover. He was born in 1948 and raised in

Fanwood. He attended Wardlaw High School in

Plainfield, which was then on Central Avenue. He

moved to Plainfield in 1977, and lived for two years

on West 8th Street. In 1979, he moved to 828

Arlington Avenue, where he stayed for thirty years

before moving to Virginia in 2009. John worked as a

real estate agent in Scotch Plains and was active in

Plainfield historic preservation and restoration. He

wrote the site nominations for the Hillside Avenue

(1982, NRHP) and Van Wyck Brooks (1985, NRHP)

Historic Districts.

In April 1999, he received the first-place award for

Victorian Homes magazine’s “Most Authentic Color

Scheme for a Residence,” a nationwide competition

sponsored by the Sherwin-Williams Company, as

well as a Union County Cultural and Heritage

Commission Award. While here, he was a member

of the Historical Society of Plainfield. John met

Dorothe Pollard through Plainfield’s Historic Review

Committee – a grassroots residents’ organization

that was the predecessor to today’s Plainfield

Historic Preservation Commission. He and Dorothe

authored two books together: Plainfield (Arcadia,

2001) and Plainfield, New Jersey’s History &

Architecture (Schiffer, 2008).

In 2005, John donated nearly 1,000 glass plate

negatives and prints, taken by local photographer

Reina Lawrence (1869-1948), to the Plainfield Public

Library. This was the beginning of what would


become The John Grady Historical Collection. To

date, he has donated approximately 60 linear feet

of historical materials. His generosity has provided

Plainfielders with The Dorothea Dix Lawrence

Papers; 107 images in the John Hoffman

Photograph Collection; a run of photographic prints

and negatives taken by local photographer Paul R.

Collier that documents local residences; records and

photographs from local Plainfield families; sundry

artifacts and paper ephemera from local businesses,

organizations, and houses of worship; and 352

unique vintage Plainfield postcards. Additionally,

John donated the files and photographs

documenting the history and restoration of his

Arlington Avenue home.

Many of these Plainfield artifacts and ephemera,

postcards, photographs by Paul Collier, Reina

Lawrence, and John Grady himself were on display

in the Library’s lobby, on the reading room wall, and

in the Anne Louise Davis meeting room. On

Saturday, May 11, John came back to Plainfield one

last time, to present a slide show of the architecture

and historic areas of the city to a packed audience.

Quite a few attendees currently live in the houses

he spoke about and were provided with unexpected

insights into the histories of their homes.

Unfortunately, we here in the Local History

Department were so caught up in the presentation

that we forgot to record it for posterity! A small

consolation is that John donated the slides he used,

as well as the slide projector, after the lecture. We

plan to digitize the slide show in its entirety for the

Library’s website.

Lawrence family photographs, ephemera and artifacts from the John Grady Historical Collection


Hand drawing from the 1944

scrapbook belonging to Shirley Van

Brakle

SERENDIPITY! REUNITING A 1944 SCRAPBOOK WITH PHOTOS OF WWII NURSE

Submitted by Elizabeth McDermott Red Bank Public Library Local History Room volunteer

Friday June 7th in Ocean County with my friends –

what better way to spend the morning but visiting

estate sales! Trying hard not to buy anything I

didn’t need, I was flipping through a tattered

scrapbook and asked “how much”? “Free” the

owner said – “Just take it”.

Score! Wonderful old greeting cards and postcards

and even a Monmouth Medical Hospital graduation

brochure from 1945. A collector’s dream. But after

I got home I looked through the pages and realized

the “author” of this book was from Matawan and

had been a nurse serving in England during WWII.

There were many clues but you had to be willing to

see them. The scrapbook memorialized a year in

the life of a young woman who served in an English

hospital in 1944 after training at Fort Monmouth.

Parties, theatre tickets, sightseeing brochures – but

also medical procedure lists and “do not adjust this

setup” drawing of how to attach a drip bag.

I started researching her name – Shirley Van

Brackle/Brakle (spelled both ways in various

documents) – and found some old links to Van

Brakles in Matawan. I went to the Matawan

Aberdeen Public Library website and used their

digitized copy of the Matawan Journal to do further

research (this was not the first time I had used

these wonderful Matawan newspapers to track

down information!). Lo and behold, Shirley Van

Brakle had returned from England and gotten

engaged to Robert Bentley of Red Bank! Suddenly

this scrapbook wasn’t just any old collection of

memorabilia. During my next visit to the Red Bank

Public Library Local History Room I looked at old

directories and confirmed the Bentley family had

indeed lived at several addresses in Red Bank. I

could not find Robert in the Red Bank High School

yearbooks despite the article saying he attended

the school so I posted the engagement

announcement on the Facebook page Historic Red

Bank. I received numerous tips from folks who had

heard of the Bentleys. One woman reported that

her father attended Wesleyan University with

Robert Bentley and she is sure that her father

introduced Robert and Shirley. She is still hunting in

her family memorabilia for Robert’s obituary.

So the end of the story is bittersweet. Both Shirley

and Robert have passed away. And a bit of further

online sleuthing brought up a site at the University

of North Carolina Greensboro – the Women

Veterans Historical Project. There under the name


WV0221 Shirley Van Brakle Papers are 28 photos of

Shirley and other WWII era pictures that have been

associated with Shirley. The bittersweet part is that

when I phoned and spoke to the curator of The

Betty H. Carter Women Veterans History Project at

Hodges Special Collections & University Archives

she was able to tell me the photos had been

purchased on eBay in 2002. I now believe that my

scrapbook was likely part of Shirley’s papers that

were dispersed when she passed away and sold.

I have emailed copies of the engagement

announcement and also an article about Shirley’s

promotion to the University Archives as they had no

biographical information on Shirley at all. I have

been in discussions with the curator about shipping

the scrapbook to them but as yet I haven’t figured

out how we’re going to arrange that.

Engagement photo – Thursday,

July 17, 1947 from Matawan

Journal (accessed online from

https://www.matawanaberdeenli

brary.com/main.php)

Promotion photo - March 8, 1945 from Matawan

Journal (accessed online from

https://www.matawanaberdeenlibrary.com/main.php)


Front Cover

SETON HALL UNIVERSITY MONSIGNOR WILLIAM NOÉ FIELD ARCHIVES & SPECIAL

COLLECTIONS CENTER

Submitted by Alan Delozier, University Archivist

“Studying Ireland, Irish Resources in the Archives &

Special Collections Center” - Public Programming

Events. A number of different presentations

connected to our repository were held throughout

March in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and Irish

Heritage month. Various resources from the

collection of Irish literary figure and bibliophile M.J.

(Meagher Joseph) MacManus (1888-1951) who

wrote various nationalist-themed books and

worked as editor of the Irish Press from 1931 until

his death two decades later have been featured.

This library includes over 3,000 titles dating from

the seventeenth century to the present day and

covers several different aspects of Irish and Irish-

American life including culture, geography,

literature, politics, biography, history and religion.

More information can be found via the following

site: -

http://blogs.shu.edu/archives/2019/03/studying-

ireland-irish-resources-in-the-archives-and-special-

collections-center/

“Women of Accomplishment and Authority:

Honoring the First Female Administrators and

School Leaders of Seton Hall (1928-1959)” - Exhibit.

In honor of Women’s History Month and beyond,

our repository presented a semester-long (Spring

2019) exhibit that recognized various pioneering

female professionals who made a difference in the

building of a stronger administrative and

educational institution through their contributions.

From the work of Marie K. Fitzsimmons who began

her affiliation with Seton Hall as the College

Registrar in 1928 to trailblazers such as Rita Murphy,

Director of the Urban Division Library and Anne E.

Murphy, the first Dean of Nursing among others.

When it came to wider recognition, Seton Hall

instituted its School of Law in 1951 and Miriam T.

Rooney, LL.B. made national history as the founding

Dean who in the process became the first female to

lead a graduate law school. More information can

be found via the following site -

http://blogs.shu.edu/archives/2019/02/women-of-

accomplishment-and-authority-honoring-the-first-

female-administrators-and-school-leaders-of-seton-

hall-1928-1959/

John Erigena Robinson Diary (1870s) – Acquisition.

A historic student journal that once belonged to

John Erigena Robinson (Seton Hall College class of

1874) was recently acquired by the Center. His diary

centers upon everyday life at the school including

homework assignments, writing letters to his family

or friends, and playing for the campus baseball

team. John Erigena Robinson was the son of William

Erigena Robinson, a Brooklyn-based congressman

and journalist whose political career is mentioned

http://blogs.shu.edu/archives/files/2019/04/Mss0125_cover_resized.jpg

http://blogs.shu.edu/archives/2019/03/studying-ireland-irish-resources-in-the-archives-and-special-collections-center/



http://blogs.shu.edu/archives/2019/02/women-of-accomplishment-and-authority-honoring-the-first-female-administrators-and-school-leaders-of-seton-hall-1928-1959/





Handwritten Entry

several times in the diary. More information about

this volume can be found via the following site -

http://blogs.shu.edu/archives/2019/04/college-life-

in-the-1870s-john-erigena-robinsons-diary/

“Pirates Beyond Play” (The History and Art of

Setonia Athletics, 1856-2006) - Exhibit. The Walsh

Gallery (located in Walsh Library), in conjunction

with the Archives & Special Collections Center at

Seton Hall University, presents: “Pirates Beyond

Play” (The History and Art of Setonia Athletics,

1856-2006) on display between June 3rd and

August 8th, 2019. This exhibit, curated by

University Archivist Alan Delozier, focuses on the

symbolic, intellectual and aesthetic importance of

sports on the Seton Hall University campus. Objects

on display include artifacts such as vintage

magazine covers, game programs, photographs,

uniforms and other ephemera that give homage to

numerous athletic achievements over the years.

The Walsh Gallery is located on the first floor of

Walsh Library located on the campus of Seton Hall

University. Gallery hours are Monday through

Thursday, 10:30am to 4:30pm. Additional

information can be found via the Walsh Gallery

website - https://library.shu.edu/walshgallery

http://blogs.shu.edu/archives/files/2019/04/Mss0125_1874_09_01_cropped.jpg


UPCOMING EVENTS AROUND NEW JERSEY

Monmouth County Genealogical Society

On July 14th, noted speaker and author Rick Geffken

will present “Slavery in New Jersey and the Quaker

Abolition Movement” a program about the history

of slavery in New Jersey. He will focus this

presentation on some Monmouth County towns.

Mr. Geffken notes that “New Jersey, sadly, was the

last northern state to outlaw slavery (1866).”

His publicity states: “At the famed Four Corners in

the Borough of Shrewsbury - where today’s Route

35 intersects Sycamore Avenue – the occupants of

the four extant colonial-era buildings were each

involved with enslaving Africans and their

descendants. Christ Church was built in 1769 by the

Rev. Samuel Cooke who owned four slaves; the

Wardell House and the Allen House were occupied

by notably harsh slave masters during the mid-18th

century. Even the Society of Friends Meeting House

(the building previous to the current structure built

in 1816) was a place of worship for many Quaker

slave holders.”

On September 8th, Fred Voss of the Bergen County

Genealogy Society will present his detailed research

of 5 families that came through Ellis Island.

The time and location of both meetings is 2 pm at

the Eatontown Community Center, 72 Broad Street,

Eatontown, NJ.

Ocean County Library

Submitted by Colleen Goode, Adult Services Librarian, Toms River Branch

Double Trouble Village: a Window into Pine Barren

Industries

Wednesday, July 24, 11 am, Berkeley Branch

Learn about the history and industry of the Pine

Barrens from 18th century logging town to

cranberry industry powerhouse in the 20th century.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Library.

History of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary

Wednesday, July 31, 2019, 2 pm, Lacey Branch

Join us as Richard O'Mera from the U.S. Coast

Guard Auxiliary discusses the creation and history of

their organization. Learn also what important

services the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary provides to

the public today. Please register.

The History of Lavallette

Wednesday, August 21, 7 pm, Upper Shores Branch

Join local historian and photographer Denise Wirth

for a fun & informative presentation about

Lavallette, City by the Sea.

House Histories Saturday, October 5, 2 pm, Toms River Branch Lorraine Arnold will discuss how she has researched

house histories and solved mysteries such as the

discovery of missing persons; identifying a family

member who went incognito to subvert the law;

murder, and suicide. This program is sponsored by

the Friends of the Ocean County Library – Toms

River.

http://theoceancountylibrary.org/events?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D132131600





Plainfield Public Library Announces Tri-County History Fair

Submitted by Sarah Hull, Head of Local History, Genealogy & Special Collections, Plainfield Public Library

The Plainfield Public Library is excited to announce

the 2019 Tri-County History Fair for Middlesex,

Somerset, and Union Counties. Join colleagues,

friends, and neighbors for a fun day of historical

discovery, resource sharing, raffles, and more. On

Saturday, September 28th from 11 am to 3 pm, a

variety of New Jersey history organizations,

museums, and libraries will be exhibiting and

promoting their historical collections or sites on the

Library’s lower level around the fountain. In honor

of the City’s 150th Anniversary and the 100th

anniversary of Plainfield City Hall, there will be a

City Hall photograph retrospective on display in the

Anne Louise Davis room at this time.

This year’s featured speaker is Dr. Lawrence Hogan,

professor emeritus of history at Union County

College, who will present, “The Best Kept Secret in

American Journalism: The Associated Negro Press.”

Dr. Hogan is the author of A Black National News

Service: Claude Barnett and the Associated Negro

Press as well as The Forgotten History of African

American Baseball. He served as Executive

Producer and historian for the documentary Before

You Can Say Jackie Robinson: Black Baseball in

New Jersey and America in the Era of the Color

Line. He is the editor and co-author of Shades of

Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African

American Baseball published by National

Geographic and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dr. Hogan’s program is part of the New Jersey

Council for the Humanities’ Public Scholars Project.

Throughout the day, we will raffle off door prizes

donated by the exhibiting organizations. Additional

programs to be announced.

If you are interested in registering your organization

for a table, the table fee is $20 and includes two

boxed lunches per table. Please contact Sarah Hull

at [email protected] or call (908) 757-1111

x136.

Image: Building the cupola on Plainfield City Hall.

Photo by Paul R. Collier, 1917.

mailto:[email protected]


Somerset County Library System

Submitted by Ken Kaufman, New Jersey Librarian

Greater Somerset County-Hub of the Revolution

Presented by Bob Mayers

Monday, July 1, 7 – 8 pm

Bridgewater branch

Places where patriots fought and died are

unmarked, shrouded in mystery, clouded in

mythology or concealed by obscure accounts and

dull statistics. An abundance of these sites have

been built over by towns and highways or are on

private property. Many of the residents of Somerset

County who drive every day over heavily trafficked

streets are completely unaware of the fierce

struggles that occurred along their route. Bob

Mayers has rediscovered these places, in his book,

Revolutionary New Jersey-Forgotten Towns and

Crossroads of the American Revolution and revived

these forsaken locations by exploring the actual

sites. Bob's presentation will bring readers back in

time to feel, see and hear the action that occurred

in their neighborhoods over 200 years ago.

Birthplaces of the Presidents

Presented by Author, Louis L. Picone

Wednesday, July 10, 7 – 8 pm

Bridgewater branch

Learn about the birthplaces of our presidents from

the author of Where the Presidents Were Born: The

History and Preservation of the Presidential

Birthplaces. His book provides the history of the

birthplace of every American president,

preservation efforts, visitor information, and

personal observations. Almost every birthplace has

been preserved in some way or another, from the

grand monuments of Abraham Lincoln and James

Buchanan, to replicas for George Washington and

Theodore Roosevelt, or the simple roadside

markers for Benjamin Harrison and Zachary Taylor.

These places all have unique and often fascinating

stories to tell.

New Jersey State Parks

Presented by Kevin Woyce

Wednesday, September 25, 7 – 8 pm

Somerville branch

Some of New Jersey's most exciting history can be

found in its more than two dozen State Parks. Old

names such as Wawayanda and Hopatcong remind

us of the Lenni Lenape, or "Original People."

Historic battlefields recall New Jersey's perilous

years as "the Crossroads of the American

Revolution." Abandoned forges still speak of our

first great industry, and we can trace the beginnings

of our transportation network in the paths of the

Morris and the Delaware & Raritan Canals. This

presentation includes original photography of many

of New Jersey's beautiful state parks, plus vintage

maps and images of historic people, places, and

events.


UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS JULY 2019

Through August 8th: “Pirates Beyond Play” Exhibit, Seton Hall University, Walsh Library

1: Greater Somerset County-Hub of the Revolution, SCLS – Bridgewater, 7 pm

10: Birthplaces of the Presidents, SCLS – Bridgewater, 7 pm

14: Slavery in New Jersey and the Quaker Abolition Movement, MCGS, Eatontown, 2 pm

24: Double Trouble Village: a Window into Pine Barren Industries, OCL – Berkeley, 11 am

31: History of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, OCL – Lacey, 2 pm

AUGUST 2019

21: The History of Lavallette, OCL – Upper Shores, 7 pm

SEPTEMBER

8: Presentation by Fred Voss on Ellis Island Families, MCGS, Eatontown, 2 pm

25: New Jersey State Parks, SCLS – Somerville, 7 pm

28: Tri-County History Fair for Middlesex, Somerset, and Union Counties, Plainfield Library, 11 am

OCTOBER

5: House Histories, OCL – Toms River, 2 pm

12: Archives and History Day, Monmouth County Library Headquarters, Manalapan

16: Archives Week presentations, Monmouth County Library, Manalapan

9:30 am From the Pines to the Waves: Wealth, Leadership, and Historic Preservation 10:45 am American Women and Royal Marriages: New Jersey’s Real-Life ‘Lady Coras.’ 1:00 pm Reclaiming Our Voice: New Jersey's Role in the Fight for Woman Suffrage. 26: African American Genealogy Research and Family Tree Maker, MCGS, Eatontown, 2 pm

Documents

MESSAGE By Sarah Hull, Section Presidentnjlamembers.org › sites › njlamembers.org › files › Chronicle Summer … · ’ MESSAGE By Sarah Hull, Section President Greetings,